CeBIT 2007, 15 to 21 March- Hot Topics - a service for the daily and business press, radio and television

At just 2.3 millimeters, it is the thinnest MP3 player in the world according to manufacturer Walletex Microelectronics Ltd., but the sound quality produced by this innovation - on show at CeBIT 2007 from 15 to 21 March - belies its slender form. The remaining dimensions of the ultra-thin MP3 player are no larger than those of a credit card. This means it fits easily into a purse or billfold for safe-keeping.

Swimmers can happily take the gadget into the pool with them too. The MP3 player is waterproof and resistant to both dust and dramatic temperature fluctuations. Two buttons are used to control the volume and select tracks. A USB port enables music, audio books and podcasts to be transferred from a computer and capacities of 256 MB to 4 GB are available.

Walletex Microelectronics Ltd.

www.walletex.com  Hall 23, Stand D282

How can companies tackle the cyberspace threats of the future in their efforts to combat Internet crime? What options are open to them in the fight against Internet crime and virus attacks? Visitors to CeBIT 2007 will find the information they are looking for at a Russian software manufacturer's stand.

There will be a real buzz at the safety experts' stand from 6 p.m. on Thursday 15 March when author and DJ Vladimir Kaminer will be joined by DJ Yuriy Gurzhy to recreate Berlin's "Russendisko", playing Eastern European music that is a mixture of gypsy punk, balalaika rock'n'roll and klezmer ska.

Kaspersky Lab. Ltd. www.kaspersky.com

Hall 7, Stand A06

Making a phone call while sitting comfortably on the sofa - that's how things used to be and now they can be again. Back in the good old days before phones went cordless, it was impossible to hold conversations while on the move. This more relaxed approach is now making a comeback at CeBIT 2007 with perCushion - a cushion with integrated Bluetooth interface, microphone, speaker and battery.

Sink back onto the lovely soft cushion from Urban Tool and use the hands-free kit to make a call without having to lift a finger.

URBAN TOOL Design und Handels GmbH

www.urbantool.com  Hall 25, Stand D34

Nowadays, there is an obligation to store data, documents and images safely for posterity. The problem with this is that storage media do not last indefinitely. For example, according to experts, CDs have a product life of around 50 years. After this period, data they contain may be lost for good. One exhibitor at CeBIT 2007 will be demonstrating how important data can be kept for hundreds of years with its new micrographic film.

According to the manufacturer, images and digitized data with a standard print resolution of 118 lpi can be kept intact for up to 500 years on the microfilm. This impressive life expectancy is possible thanks to special azo dyes, polyester carriers and innovative RGB laser imaging.

ILFORD Imaging Switzerland GmbH www.ilford.com

Hall 1, Stand D91 (with MicroArchive Systems)

Very few elderly people would choose to move into a retirement home. To enable them to remain within their own four walls for as long as possible, the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering has developed an intelligent apartment, a mini-version of which will be unveiled at CeBIT 2007 in Hannover.

Motion detectors, floor coverings with RFID chips and sensors incorporated in everyday items ensure that anyone in trouble receives help in an emergency. If a walking stick falls onto the floor, for example, the owner is asked if everything is all right through a speaker. If there is no response, the emergency services are notified automatically so that they can take appropriate action. The data is collected by a high-tech system and transmitted to a data center that raises the alarm immediately if the person living in the apartment fails to follow their daily routine.

Laboratory staff have also enlisted the help of a number of senior citizens to develop an intelligent cup that measures the amount being drunk and alerts the user if this is insufficient. Further innovations include a robot that helps carry items and follows the walking stick automatically, if necessary, and a refrigerator that checks the best before date on groceries.

Fraunhofer-Institut für Experimentelles Software Engineering IESE www.iese.fraunhofer.de

Thomas Kleinberger Hall 9, Stand B35 (BMBF stand)

Augsburg University's Laboratory for Multimedia Concepts and Applications will be showcasing not one but three top innovations at CeBIT 2007 - a man-machine interface, an output medium and a context-sensitive author system. "Ritchie" - the virtual anatomy assistant - incorporates all three new developments, which visitors to the stand will have fun discovering.

"Ritchie" automatically detects visitors approaching the stand and asks for their help to position virtual organs in a real skeleton. A lack of anatomical knowledge is no problem because "Ritchie" tells you where the organs go if necessary. He is not, however, beyond making a scathing remark if they are placed in completely the wrong position.

To complete the task, visitors take individual organs from the screen, a digital mirror, and place them in the skeleton in front of it without actually having anything visible in their hands. The result of the "organ transplant" is displayed in the digital mirror. The visitors' actions are analyzed in real time so that proceedings can be adapted accordingly. This means that "Ritchie" can intervene in an instant.

Universität Augsburg Lehrstuhl für Multimedia-Konzepte und Anwendungen

www.mm-werkstatt.informatik.uni-augsburg.de

Dr. Klaus Dorfmüller-Ulhaas Hall 9, Stand B20 (with Bayern innovativ)

Mirror, mirror on the wall, nationwide share prices, I want them all. Anyone in a rush to see how their shares are doing first thing in the morning can have the latest prices projected directly onto the bathroom mirror with "Bathroom TV".

Want to watch a western while taking a bath? That's no problem either for manufacturer ad notam, which will be showcasing its mood-enhancing 32-inch bathroom mirror TV at CeBIT 2007. In addition to slide and TV shows, share prices and videos, multicolor LED lighting can be programmed around the edge of the mirror and the news ticker can be set to your chosen frame or lighting to put you in a good frame of mind. Thanks to the wireless technology used to transmit video and audio signals, the high-tech mirrors can be installed in almost any bathroom. All you need is a power socket.

There is no need to drill a hole as the special monitor is attached to the bathroom wall using magnet technology. The world's flattest multifunction monitor (according to the manufacturer) sits extremely close to the glass surface. When the screen is switched off, the LCD display also disappears behind a mirrored surface and becomes invisible. It goes without saying that the remote control is waterproof.

ad notam GmbH www.ad-notam.com

Lars Runne Hall 2, Stand C22

Elaborately handwritten menus could soon be a thing of the past, as demonstrated by a team from Regensburg University with a CeBIT 2007 highlight - "Papeo" (Portable Assistant for Personal Electronic Ordering). With "Papeo", orders are no longer given to the waiter after reading the menu but passed directly to the kitchen or counter staff via touchscreen.

The modular structure means that any system components can be developed independently and switched on or off as required. For example, "Papeo" is not only able to take orders, pass them on and add them to the bill, but also entertain diners at their tables or make advertising appear on its screen as if by magic. Its main aim, however, is to transform the bidirectional process currently typical in the catering world into a dynamic cyclic workflow.

Universität Regensburg Lehrstuhl für Informationswissenschaft, Psychologie

www.iw.uni-regensburg.de/mamboiw/

Ludwig Hitzenberger Hall 9, Stand B20 (with Bayern innovativ)

A nightmare for employers - staff copy sensitive company data onto a USB stick and head for home or, in the worst-case scenario, to a competitor. Equally bad news are employees who bring their own programs to work with them which contain viruses that cause the server to crash.

To prevent such computer meltdowns, Pointsec Mobile Technologies has developed the new Pointsec Device Protector security tool, a kind of 007 software for centralized secret monitoring of data traffic at USB, Bluetooth and FireWire interfaces.

According to the manufacturer, it is the only product that combines interface management and content filtering with the ability to encode any kind of storage media. The system, which will be on show at CeBIT 2007 from 15 to 21 March, uses a digital signature that enables equipment to be identified. If an attempt is made to connect another device, the data exchange process will not work. Holiday photos that staff have brought in cannot be put onto the system and confidential documents on devices that do not belong to the company are prevented from leaving the building.

Pointsec Mobile Technologies AB www.pointsec.com

Hall 6, Stand K41/1

Digital watermarks have been in use for some time now to ensure that digital data is also copyright-protected. Such specific information is added to the data that it can be identified at any time, but the person using the data is unable to recognize the digital watermark. It can be read out using a secret code which only the copyright holder and authorized users know.

To date, this method has primarily been used to protect text, image, music and video data. An institute for graphic data processing will be using CeBIT 2007 to showcase digital watermarks that also protect 3D documents. This solution for digital watermarks in CAD models supports the two major data types in this field - NURBS and polygon models.

Fraunhofer-Institut für Graphische Datenverarbeitung IGD www.igd.fraunhofer.de/igd-a8  

Alexander Nouak Hall 9, Stand B36 (Fraunhofer Gesellschaft) 

- Deutsche Messe, Hannover -

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